Despite fine acting, 'A Most Violent Year' lacks some punch

Stars Oscar Issac, Jessica Chastain, and others gamely try to elevate writer-director J.C. Chandor's story about New York's heating oil business of the late 20th century.

Atsushi Nishijima, A24/AP

This photo, released courtesy of A24, shows Jessica Chastain, left, and Oscar Isaac, in a scene from J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year."

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December 31, 2014

By Peter RainerFilm critic

Oscar Isaac, so strong in his breakout movie, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” compounds the good impression in writer-director J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year,” in which he plays Abel Morales, a businessman ensnared in the corrupt oil-heating business in 1981 New York.

It’s a gangster movie that tries to be more than that, not always successfully. In his own small-scale way, Chandor wants to expand the reach of his vision to “Godfather” status, with Abel as his shining (tainted) knight.